During the month of October, children and adults across the US are anticipating the spookiest day of the year, Halloween. Between the creative outfits and the delicious sweets and treats, there’s a lot to look forward to on this popular holiday. Of course, we want you to be careful about enjoying too much candy since it’ll hinder your overall health, including your smile, but there’s more to dental care than just monitoring the amount of sweets you eat. Below, your Austin dentist wants to discuss other potential, harmful instances you can run into on your Halloween night.

Start Out the Night Right – With a Clean Smile

There are tons of costumes that go above and beyond, helping trick-or-treaters and others who dress up to look exactly like their ideal design. Sometimes, this includes wearing fake or false teeth. Whether you’re looking for fangs to complete your vampire aesthetic or you need to add some gold to your grin with your swanky, rich outfit, these additions can help bacterial build-up.

Once you get your new (temporary) smile, make sure it’s properly cleaned and you feel comfortable wearing it in your mouth. If it’s uncomfortable or causing you pain, it could tear up your gums and potentially cause bleeding. We highly recommend forgoing the additional smile if it’s hurting you. If you feel comfortable, then make sure to brush your teeth before wearing them for an extended period – the latest bacteria and debris won’t have anywhere to hide and won’t linger while you’re out having fun.

Don’t Wear Your New Smile for Too Long

While you don’t want to downplay your outfit, you also want to make sure that your teeth and gums are healthy and unharmed. We highly suggest limiting the amount of time that you wear your fake teeth to reduce the chance of any damage or discomfort. Obviously, these teeth aren’t made to bite and chew like your natural smile, so we want you to avoid using them as such. Remove your plastic teeth when eating or drinking to avoid any difficulty or potential damage.

Be Careful – Not Everything is Safe for Your Smile

Besides plastic teeth, there are other costumes that may require a “mouthpiece.” For instance, if you’re playing the popular Sherlock Holmes, your costume may come with his infamous pipe. But if you’re not entirely sure of how it was made, you may want to either complete a thorough cleaning or avoid the piece altogether. Your oral health is much more vulnerable than you think and on this night of costumes and candies, your teeth could be in danger!

Believe us: we want you to have a fun and special Halloween night! But we simply wouldn’t be doing our part as your Austin dentist if we didn’t give you some helpful tips and tricks to protect your teeth. We hope you have a wonderful Halloween and don’t forget to schedule your visit with us by calling our office today at (512) 291-1666.